House Lust Picks Westover Hills as a Good Neighborhood for Kids
House Lust, a real estate column on Richmond.com has a post up about finding a good neighborhood for kids. House Hunter lists 9 and among them is Westover Hills.
Westover Hills
Area 60
Pros: Beautiful homes built during the 20′s and 40′s on large lots. Sidewalks, restaurants, O’Toole’s, great neighborhood vibe. Huge trails and playground at Forest Hill Park and access to the James River Park.
Cons: Again, schools. This is becoming a recurring theme. But the new Patrick Henry Charter School is great experiment and a brand new way of doing things.
I think all the Pros listed would just as easily describe Forest Hill & Woodland Heights maybe substituting or adding Crossroads for those in Woodland Heights. I also think schools is debatable con since you have lots of option both public and private.
Other Pros for the three hoods include: soon to be renovated Public Library, Maldini’s, Cielito Lindo, Mexico, The Forest, the Farmer’s Market, Planet Granite, Doc the Barber, Music in the Park, Sunday in the Park with Friends, active churches, and strong neighborhood associations.
Some additional cons: speeding on Semmes/Forest Hill Ave, alley & shed crime, tolls, friends across the river rarely come to this side, and good number of empty storefronts.
Any thoughts?
Westover Hills is the best.
I have lived all but 6 of my 29 years in Westover Hills! My parents still live here and I’m raising my family here!
I recommend the ‘hood to everyone!!
What’s the story with Cielito Lindo?
I thought it was closing.
Someone clearly has the wrong kind of “friends”…
Actually, it cracks me up that ‘tolls’ are even mentioned. There are what, 7 or 8 bridges crossing the James within city limits or in the metro area, and only two are toll bridges.
I think that empty storefronts are a problem just about everywhere these days, and speeding on main roads is a universal problem.
On Cielito Lindo, the property was for sale. The sign was removed but I don’t have any info on whether there is a new owner. All reports indicated (except my very first one) that Lindo was/is sticking around. I have been told that they have a good lease and will be around for a while.
I talked to a couple of the Cielito Lindo folks at the Farmer’s Market a few months ago and I was also told by them that they will be sticking around despite switching owners.
I have lived here ALL of my life…and it’s a long life.
Was a wonderful place to live in the 30′s (when we had a bridge pass which came with the property) and still is a wonderful place in 2010 (when we sorta’ have a bridge pass but we pay Ezy poople)!! So Y’all Come, You Hear!
Just want to point out that living in the hills and heights neighborhoods does not give your kids priority to enroll in the new Patrick Henry Charter school nor any of the better public schools across the river (i.e. William Fox and Munford). My husband and I purchased our lovely house in the FH area long before we had our kids and schools were not on our minds. At this point we are paying over $15K a year to send our kids to private schools just because we want our kids to have a decent education and we don’t believe that the public schools in the neighborhoods can deliver that. I don’t think our neighborhoods will be able to attract young families if the quality of schools in this area is not addressed.
With respect, Sandra, two Fourth District schools will meet your standards. Check Fisher and Southampton…esp. Southampton. Spanish immersion, small class size, good test scores, a Learning Garden strongly supported by the neighborhood. For Middle School, the IB program at Lucille Brown (on Jahnke Rd) is excellent.
It’s funny you say that, Sandra, because in the last five-to-ten of the sixteen years I’ve lived in this neighborhood, the number of young families has exploded.
Agree with #7 and #8.
Perception does not match the reality of the Richmond Public School landscape anymore.
And also, odds are pretty good that if you apply to the schools you mention, if you’re patient, you will get your child in. Once in, they’re in for the duration. Many parents enter the respective lotteries, but do not end up sending their kids to the schools. I know for sure both Fox and Patrick Henry had spaces in late july/august for kindergarten. Also, Fisher is an excellent school in our area. I’ll agree, though, that middle and high schools are another kettle of fish.
I agree that a lot more families are staying. If you count up the kids on your block or the next block over, you may be surprised how many kids there are. There are six kids in elementary school on my block and eight toddlers/preschoolers.
I even got a call last week that my daughter got into Munford through the lottery.
Well, I think the key word here is “lottery”. I am also living in the Forest Hill neighborhood and Westover Hills Elementary is the school in my zone. My daughter is going to kindergarten this year and the only way I could send her to a decent public school was to enter her in the open enrollment lottery and sadly she did not get selected. I heard stories that some parents got calls from public schools of their choice notifying them that their children got into the schools in the last minute. I am wondering how many parents out there are willing to wait until the last minute in a gamble that their kids will get a spot in one of the better schools ? In the event that I put my house on the market could I tell my prospective buyers that it’s not guaranteed but maybe their children would win the lottery and get into a public school of their choice?
Ashley, a better answer is that at least three of the primaries in the area are performing at a high level. There was no waiting list at Fisher or Southampton, and I am told that at the last minute there were about a dozen or more spots that opened at Pat Henry.
Great for having good primary choices. We did Fisher, many years ago. I have heard from 2 public school educators in Richmond that Fisher is nothing at all like it used to be, it has down hill. Sad to hear.
The scary part is middle school. You may make it through primary, but the world of middle schools in this city is a terrifying one.